[geeks] Mr Bill?

[der Mouse]

> What's so amazing about survival is that we could one day rule the
> world

I think it's a defensible position that we already do.  There is no
creature on the planet that can even come close to threatening our
position at the top of the food chain (which is about the closest thing
to a species-neutral definition of ruling the world that I've been able
to come up with).  Other humans aside, the only things that have killed
substantial fractions of humanity have been diseases, and even they
haven't reached very high kill rates.  Even the worst epidemics rarely
get above about 30-35 percent local kill, and epidemics that bad are
usually so geographically limited they are barely noticable on a global
scale.  It takes an endemic disease, like malaria (historical) or AIDS
(current Africa) to have much effect.

> and also take good care of it at the same time, and get obliterated
> by a big chunk of rock that hits Earth a little too hard.

It would take a really big chunk.  Humanity's principal trait is
adaptability; it would take a hell of a thwack to disrupt the planet
badly enough to do away with the human race.  (It wouldn't take much to
kill off most of us and make life unpleasant and probably short, by
modern standards, for most of the remainder.  But to leave not even a
few enclaves?  Or to be so hard on them that they couldn't wait it out?
That would be tough.  For example, I don't think a repeat of the
Cretaceous extinction event, whatever it was, could do it.)

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